Muscadine grape plant named &#39;Majesty&#39;

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of the muscadine grape plant,  Vitis rotundifolia  Michx., which has exceptionally good flavor, firm flesh texture with relatively thin skin, and a larger berry than the current grapes that are produced commercially. The vines of this cultivar are vigorous, productive and disease resistant.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

This research was supported by Florida Department of Agriculture andConsumer Services grant contract number 000465.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a new and distinct plant cultivar ofVitis rotundifolia Michx., which has been given the name ‘Majesty’. Thefollowing traits have been repeatedly observed and are the mostpronounced characteristics of this new cultivar when grown in Florida,and which in combination distinguish it from existing cultivars:

1) Vigorous vine growth, high fruit yield, and disease resistant.

2) Very large red-black colored fruit, which is 3-4 grams more than thelargest muscadine variety.

3) Very good flavor.

4) Low fruit rot and relatively low wet scar.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying color photograph shows a representative section of atypical specimen of the new cultivar.

This photograph is a detailed view of several clusters of ripe berries,obtained by clipping away some foliage.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, color references are made to The RoyalHorticultural Society Colour Chart except where general terms ofordinary dictionary significance are used.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The muscadine grape, Vitis rotundifolia Michx., is a popular fresh fruitgrown in the Southeastern United States. In the North Florida climate,it ripens in late August when few other fruits are in season. Theberries are large, as compared to other grape species, and are borne insmall clusters of 5-10. When fully ripe, the berries on existingcultivars are generally bronze, but can also range from red to blackwith slightly raised lenticels, giving a somewhat mottled appearance.

‘Supreme’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,267) is a muscadine grape cultivarintroduced in the late 1980s for the fresh fruit market in theSoutheastern United States. It was developed from a cross between thefemale variety ‘Black Fry’ and the pollen parent ‘Dixieland’ made by Mr.W. G. Ison. ‘Supreme's’ distinguishing features were that it was animproved variety at the time of its release of the muscadine grape, andthe large sized black berry. ‘Black Fry’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 5,824) wasdeveloped from a cross between the female variety ‘Fry’ and the pollenparent variety ‘Cowart,’ also made by Mr. Ison. ‘Black Fry's’distinguishing features were that its characteristics, such as quality,shelf life, and sugar content were superior to both parents. ‘Triumph’(unpatented) is a cross made by Mr. Fry in 1965. The original seedlingwas identified in 1971, and the cultivar has been grown commercially forover a decade. Two distinguishing characteristics of ‘Triumph’ are itsprolific pollen production, making it an excellent planting adjacent topistillate cultivars, and the high percentage of its berries whichseparate with a high dry stem scar (i.e., no tear in the berry at thepoint of detachment for the pedicel). Despite these distinguishingcharacteristics of ‘Supreme’, ‘Fry’ and ‘Triumph’, customers are alwayslooking for a variety with even bigger berries. Furthermore, we havefound that the yields for ‘Supreme’ and ‘Fry’ were inconsistent indifferent years and locations. Thus, there has been a need to develop anew cultivar that has a berry size that is larger than the currentmuscadine variety and has a firm flesh texture with relatively thin skinand good flavor, which also retains important agronomic characteristicssuch as vigorous growth, disease resistance and very low fruit rot.Additionally, there is a need to develop a muscadine grape plantcultivar with a relatively low wet scar to minimize berry damage for thefresh fruit market.

Origin of the Invention

The plant of this invention, ‘Majesty’, was developed from an organizedscientifically designed breeding program conducted at FloridaAgricultural and Mechanical University Center for Viticulture and SmallFruit Research at Tallahassee, Fla. ‘Majesty’ originated from a seedingpopulation crossed between muscadine grape cultivars ‘Supreme’ and‘Triumph’ in 1997. The seedling was selected from a progeny of 36, andtesting of the agronomic characteristics began in 2001 at Florida A&MUniversity Research Vineyard in Tallahassee, Fla. The new cultivar wasasexually reproduced from cuttings taken from the original seedling andthe new cultivar has been tested under the experimental designationO26-5-8. The unique features of the new cultivar have been retained.

Methods of Asexual Reproduction

‘Majesty’ was asexually reproduced in Tallahassee, Fla., utilizingstandard mist propagation techniques. No hormones were used. Soft woodcuttings from the original ‘Majesty’ vine were taken in June and July,and two-node softwood cuttings were placed in a 50% sand and 50% peatmoss medium. The cuttings were misted for, 5 seconds in 10 minuteintervals for a period of about 16 hours during the day. After rootingin four weeks, the cuttings were moved out of the mist bed to a shadednursery, and the vines were fully established in two months.

Other methods of asexual reproduction are possible. One alternate methodcomprises layering, wherein the current season's growth is placed in atrench 4-6″ deep at the base of the mother plant, still attached to themother vine, and covered with moist material such as sphagnum moss.Rooting cuttings from the material in the trench can then be separatedfrom the mother plant during the following dormant season.

-   Plant characteristics:    -   -   Vines.—The vines of “Majesty’ grow vigorously, i.e., the            growth of lateral canes on mature vines is at least 4 to 8            feet per growing season. The vines typically fill a 12 foot            single-wire trellis by the end of the first growing season            in Florida. The trunk caliper measurement at 12 inches above            the soil line averages 4.3 inches for a typical five-year            old vine.        -   Canes.—Lateral canes are semi-drooping and generally grow            6-8 feet or more in a season in Florida. The color of mature            canes is brown and the bark is thin, hard and smooth, i.e.,            the bark does not separate from the trunk/stem. Cane            diameter is 0.2 to 0.5 inches. Internode length ranges from            1.5 to 3.0 inches. Tendrils averaging 4.5 inches in length,            are unbranched, and the pith discontinuous along the nodes.        -   Foliage.—Leaves average 3.5 inches in length and 2.5 in            width. The leaves are nearly circular with broadly toothed            margins, and glabrous on both upper and lower surfaces.            Mature upper leaf surface are limpid green (135C, Royal            Horticultural Society colour chart) and somewhat shiny,            while the lower leaf surfaces are paris green (134B, Royal            Horticultural Society colour chart) and not as dark, and            less bright compared to the upper surface. Petiole length            equals or slightly exceeds the blade midrib length and the            petiole sinus is open.        -   Flowers.—The flowers are pistillate. The petals are light            green and small (with the inflorescence less than 0.2 inches            in diameter), which is typical for the species. The            non-functional anthers are chartreuse yellow (154C, Royal            Horticultural Society color chart), and supported on short            and deflected filaments at the base of the ovary. The            flowers are short lived, lasting approximately 3 to 5 days.            “Majesty’ typically blooms from April 25 through May 10 at            Tallahassee, Fla. Successful pollination of ‘Majesty’ has            been accomplished with ‘Triumph’, ‘Alachua’ and ‘Cowart.’        -   Fruit.—The vines produce large, red-black colored fruit,            which ripen in a 1 to 2 week period beginning around August            25 in Tallahassee, Fla. At maturity, the berries weigh            approximately 16.5 grams each and average 15.2% soluble            solids. The berries are round to slightly elongated and            range from 1.14 to 1.26 inches in diameter, containing an            average of 3.1 seeds per berry. The berries have conspicuous            lenticels giving them a somewhat mottled appearance. The            berries separate from the pedicel with a relatively low wet            scar, i.e., less than 30% of the berries are torn at the            point of detachment from the pedicel. The red-black color of            the ‘Majesty’ fruit, based on The Royal Horticultural            Society of London Colour Chart, falls into the purple-violet            to violet groups, 82A and 83A. This fruit color is distinct            from the bronze fruit of ‘Triumph,’ and the black to deep            red color of ‘Supreme’. A comparison of the important fruit            characteristics (size, soluble solids, berry cluster) and            overall yield are presented in Table 1; these observations            have been made annually over a three year period, except for            the yield data, and the traits have been retained.

TABLE 1 Characteristics and Yield of ‘Majesty’ Compared to Three FreshMarket Muscadine Grape Cultivars in Tallahassee, Florida¹ Flower BerrySize Soluble Cultivar Type² (grams) Solids (%) Berries/Cluster lb/VineMajesty P 16.5 15.2 5.8 73.4 Alachua SF 7.4 16.3 7.7 56.0 Fry P 10.317.0 5.9 40.5 Supreme P 12.8 14.4 6.7 42.2 ¹The yield date (pound/vineis for 2007 only, while the other data are three year averages. ²Flowertype: SF = self-fertile, P = pistillate.

1. A new and distinct variety of muscadine grape plant named ‘Majesty’, substantially as herein described and illustrated. 